Black Jack is one of the most widely popular card games in casinos. There are many variations of the game played throughout the world. In general, the game utilizes a table with a semi-circular top that has a felt covering which carries images of player stations (typically a total of seven) spaced along the table top's arcuate edge. A dealer is usually seated adjacent to the straight edge of the table top (opposite the arcuate edge). The game can also be played on a computer or on a video gaming machine where the cards are computer generated and displayed to the player on a terminal.
As many as seven players (or the total number of player stations) or as few as one player may play at the table adjacent to a player station. Accordingly, each player has an exclusive access to one of the stations. When the game is implemented on a computer the game is typically played by one player against the computer although internet based Black Jack games may allow multiple players at the same virtual table.
The game is played with at least one standard deck of cards and may be played with multiple decks. Most casino Black Jack tables use six to eight standard decks of cards. Each card has a point value. An ace has a point value of either 1 or 11. Kings, queens and jacks have a point value of 10. All other cards have a point value equal to their nominal value. The cards are shuffled together and dealt by the dealer. Typically, when multiple decks are being used, the dealer deals from a shoe.
Each station includes an image marking an area for players to place bets (typically a circle). Before any cards are dealt, each player makes a wager by placing chips representative of the wager within the betting area at the player's station. Some casinos allow players to make wagers by placing cash within the betting area. Of course, in video or computer versions of Black Jack, there are many different ways for a player to place a bet. By way of example, a number representing the value of a wager amount may be displayed on a terminal screen or a video representation of chips that represent the wager may be displayed on an area of the screen. After the wagers are made, the dealer deals a first card to each of the players and to himself. The dealer then deals a second card to each of the players and a second card to himself whereby each of the players and the dealer have a hand comprised of two cards. Typically, each of the cards dealt to the players are dealt face up. At some tables, the player's cards are dealt face down. One of the cards dealt to the dealer is usually dealt face up (usually the first card) and the other card is usually dealt face down. The card that is dealt face down to the dealer (usually the second) is often referred to as the hole card.
Some casinos, mostly in Europe, give the dealer only one card face up until all the players have finished their hands. The dealer then deals his second card, and finishes his hand. This is sometimes called the European No Hole Card rule.
A point value of a hand is the sum of the point values of cards comprising the hand. The player's object is to acquire a hand whose point value is as close to 21 as possible, without exceeding 21. When the point value of the player's hand exceeds 21, the player loses his wager.
When the dealer's face up card has a point value of 10 or is an ace, the dealer typically looks at the hole card. When the sum of the point values of the dealer's first card and hole card is 21 (referred to as a “natural”), the dealer has “Black Jack”. Similarly, a player has “Black Jack” when he is dealt a natural.
If the dealer's face up card is an Ace, he will typically offer “Insurance” to the players before dealing the players any cards in addition to the initial two cards. Insurance bets can be made by betting up to half the player's original bet amount. An insurance bet is typically placed in an insurance betting stripe in front of the initial bet. This can be done in various ways in video or computer versions of Black Jack. The dealer will check to see if he has a 10-value card underneath his Ace, and if he does have Blackjack, the winning Insurance bet will be paid at odds of 2:1. The player loses his original bet of course (unless he also has a Blackjack), so the net effect is that the player breaks even (assuming the player bet the full half bet for insurance.) This is why the bet is described as “insurance”, since it seems to protect the player's original bet against a dealer Black Jack. Of course, if the dealer does not have Black Jack, the player loses the insurance bet, and still has to play the original bet out. In the simplest description, Insurance is a side-bet, where the player is offered 2:1 odds that the dealer has a 10-valued card underneath (“in the hole”) when the dealer is showing an Ace.
When the dealer and the player both have naturals, there is no payout; the player retrieves the wager. This is often referred to as a “push”. When the dealer has a natural and the player does not have a natural, the dealer collects the wager. When the dealer does not have a natural and the player has a natural, the player usually receives a 3 to 2 payout on the wager.
When the dealer's hand is not a natural and a player's hand has a point value of less than 21, the player may elect to have his hand augmented by one or more additional cards. When a player chooses to receive an additional card, this is commonly referred to as asking for a “hit”. A player can ask for a hit one or more times until the hand has a point value of 21 or greater. When a player does not want any further cards, this is commonly referred to as “standing”. Thereafter, a player who has a hand with a point value of 21 or less is referred to as a surviving player. If the point value of the hand is over 21, the player loses his bet and is said to have “busted”. Other options that are also commonly available are splitting and doubling down. A player may split a hand when he is dealt a matching pair of cards. Electing to split results in the hand being split into two separate hands that are played independently. Doubling down can usually only be done with a two card hand, before another card has been drawn. Doubling down allows the player to double his bet and receive one, and only one, additional card to the hand. Player's are typically allowed to double down for “less” and place a bet of less than double the original bet.
Some casinos offer an option called surrender. This option can fall into two categories: early and late. Surrender offers the player the choice to fold his hand, at the cost of half of the original bet. The player must make that decision prior to taking any other action on the hand. For example, once the player draws a third card, splits or doubles down, surrender is no longer an option. The two varieties of surrender, early and late, differ only in the way a dealer Black Jack is handled. In an early surrender game, a player may choose to surrender before the dealer checks his cards for a Black Jack, offering a cheap way out even if the dealer turns out to have a Black Jack. A much more common variation is late surrender, where the dealer checks for Black Jack first, and then only if he does not have Black Jack will the dealer allow players to surrender their hands.
Another variation to the game of Black Jack is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,644, entitled “Method of Playing a Card Game”, which names a common inventor to the present application. This patent is hereby incorporated by reference. The assignee of the present application has been marketing a variation to Black Jack that is based on the content of U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,644 under the name Guarantee 20®. This variation works as follows. The dealer deals both cards to himself face down. If a player is initially dealt two cards with a point value of twenty, the player has the option of moving his original wager to a separate betting area to make the Guarantee 20® wager. The dealer then turns over one card. If the dealer's face up card is not an Ace or a ten, a player who made the Guarantee 20® wager is paid one half of his wager and his cards are removed. If the dealer's up card is an Ace or a ten, the dealer checks to see if he was dealt a natural. If so, a player who made the Guarantee 20® wager is paid 1.5 to 1 on his bet. If the dealer does not have a natural, those players who made the Guarantee 20® wager are paid one half of their wager and those who did not are given a second chance to make the Guarantee 20® wager. If a player takes the second chance, he is immediately paid one half of his wager and his cards are removed. This modification to Black Jack requires a modification to the typical fashion in which cards are dealt because both of the dealer's cards are dealt face down as opposed to one face down and one face up.
After the player's have made their election (e.g., double down, split, hit one or more times and stand, or initially stand), the dealer exposes his hole card. When the dealer's hand has a point value of 16 or less, the dealer must continue to augment his hand with additional cards until the point value of the dealer's hand is greater than 16. When the dealer's final hand has a point value greater than 21, the dealer is said to have “busted” and makes a one to one payout on the wager of each of the surviving players.
The dealer may not augment his hand when it has a point value greater than 16. In other words, when the dealer's hand has a point value in a range of 17 to 21, it is the dealer's final hand. In some variations, a dealer must augment his hand when he has a “soft” 17—which occurs when the hand is comprised of an Ace and a Seven card.
Each of the surviving players wins a one to one payout on their wager when they have a hand with a point value greater than the point value of the final hand. Conversely, each of the surviving players loses his wager when he has a hand with a point value less than the point value of the final hand. A surviving player recovers his wager when he has a hand with a point value equal to the point value of the final hand (he is commonly said to have “pushed”).
Casinos make money by offering Black Jack because the rules result in the casino receiving a slight advantage (sometimes lower than two percent) over the players. With a large volume of bets over time, the casino will reap large rewards. In light of this, it is advantageous to casinos to offer bets which attract players and which provide the casino with an edge—even if it is a very slight edge. It is also advantageous to casinos for the various bets to be simple from the perspective of the dealer so that the game can be dealt and played in an efficient and quick manner. Players, on the other hand, typically play the game for shorter periods of time than the house or casino (which is in theory always open). Accordingly, players may focus less on the statistical averages and more on “gut” feeling when making playing decisions. One frustrating aspect of play that a player must endure is having a hand comprised of two cards with a high point value (such as 20) and losing because the dealer has a natural or because the dealer draws a better hand (such as a 21). It is therefore desirable to offer options that maintain or enhance the casino's edge in Black Jack while also providing more flexibility to the player and attracting more play.